Back to the sayings bit, I hate it how they like to start or end paragraphs with “As the old saying goes…” “so the saying … definitely rings true here.”
Like we can’t figure out it’s a saying.
[quote=“ehophi”]I teach my students simplified syntax trees with some case structure grammar in it so that they can just keep track of stupid tricks and get most sentences out mostly correctly.
The main English rules that they ignore are, not surprisingly, rules that differ or don’t exist in Mandarin.
[ol]
[li]Students ignore determiners when they’re not giving any essential information (when they are not needed in Mandarin).[/li]
[li]Students often put adverbials of time period (When…?) and frequency (How often…?) in awkward places (where they are found in Mandarin).[/li]
[li]Students confuse the existential verb to be there with the verb to have (because they’re the same in Mandarin, 有)[/li]
[li]Students order prepositional phrases and subordinate clauses awkwardly (because they’re not taught any case prioritization in subordination, and it takes a native-level of immersion to learn it without taking some special concern for case).[/li]
[li]Students don’t know when or how to conjugate verbs in a sentence (because it doesn’t happen in Mandarin).[/li][/ol][/quote]
And not one of those kills me as much as number 3. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve corrected my students for saying “There have a ___” or answering a question like “Is there a time limit for the test?” with “have!”
It is horrible, and I’ve LITERALLY had nightmares about it.
slightly off the “writing mistakes” topic but one common mistake i’ve heard in almost every speech contest i’ve attended is the finale - “thank you for your listening”…
“I ever teach English”
“I ever to United States”
Then I figured out what they were trying to say:
“I have taught English”
“I have been to the United States”
Noticed this on two separate occasions, and they were both Taiwanese English teachers.
At least I can understand how they’d make that mistake.
[quote=“Taigottawanna”]“I ever teach English”
“I ever to United States”
At least I can understand how they’d make that mistake.[/quote]
Yup. It’s because someone, somewhere, taught them that “ever” means “曾經”.
And because they must have skipped class on the day they were supposed to have been taught how to use it properly.
[quote=“dashgalaxy86”]
And not one of those kills me as much as number 3. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve corrected my students for saying “There have a ___” .[/quote]
Yes, and it goes hand in hand with “There is very beautiful.” Chinese interference for both of course. I think the input received in “there is…” sentences and “…there” sentences cancel each other out and mess each other up a bit here.
[quote=“Taigottawanna”]“I ever teach English”
“I ever to United States”
Then I figured out what they were trying to say:
“I have taught English”
“I have been to the United States”
Noticed this on two separate occasions, and they were both Taiwanese English teachers.
At least I can understand how they’d make that mistake.[/quote]
There may be another point there. Mandarin doesn’t have prepositions, proper, just a lot of dummy verbs and circum-positions (special adpositional pieces) that serve the same function.
“你曾經到美國嗎?” You could transliterate it as, “You ever to United States [嗎]?” 到 is just that dynamic.
The first sentence is a disastrous one, though, for English ears, “Do you ever teach English?” “Have you ever taught English?” Conjugation is a bitch to learn for Chinese people (and I found that same sentiment when I taught Spanish to English speakers).
I’ve long considered collecting every common mistake that Taiwanese make, explaining WHY they make it, and then throwing it all in a book for newbies who come to Taiwan.
using “besides” wrongly.
It’s been done:
Common Mistakes of Chinese Students in English Usage by Mark and Deborah Channing, Crane Publishing, Taipei, 1986
I bought it years ago at Caves.
Here’s one I come across a lot:
“I have been to America for seven times.”
Tenses, articles, prepositions, spelling, pronouns,
wrong choice of words, singular and plural forms and agreement.
Prepositions
(These apply to writing as well as speaking.)
I need to prepare my final exam. (Should be “prepare for”, unless it’s the teacher making the statement)
I enjoy listening the radio. (Should be “listening to”)
I am lack of enthusiasm. (Should be “I lack enthusiasm”)
I would like to discuss about this issue with you. (The word “about” should be omitted)
I married with her last year. (The word “with” should be omitted)
I won that scholarship for three times. (The word “for” should be omitted)
I am a student of/in National Taiwan University. (should be “at”)
For most of them… Abusive use of google translation…
I am a French tutor so the mistakes are not basically the same but I aslo attend lectures with Taiwanese and my classmates’ homeworks are full of the typical translation mistakes made by google… Unless they make it by themselves, it seems that they use a lot that kind of easy way ! :o